Sean C. Morgan
Seniors Kyle Winslow and Kristen Tollen have been selected as Sweet Home High School’s Junior First Citizens for 2011.
“Kyle Winslow is one of those exceptional students that every teacher and administrator feels fortunate to have in their school,” said SHHS Principal Pat Stineff. “Kyle is a leader by example. He is respected by his peers. He has been elected student body president for two years in a row, an occurrence I have seen only twice in my 35 years in high school education.”
He is a top student, she said. He is maintaining a 3.98 GPA while competing in three sports each year, taking honors and advanced placement classes, participating in leadership activities and community service and receiving numerous awards for his hard work and abilities.
“Kyle is extremely hard-working, self-motivated and dependable,” Stineff said. “He is not influenced by peer pressure but chooses to do the right thing just because that is the right thing to do. Kyle has very definite plans for his future and knows how to accomplish his goals. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that Kyle will achieve his goals and be a very valuable member of society.”
SHHS Forestry Club Adviser and Woods Instructor Dustin Nichol had similar things to say about Tolle.
“Kristen is unique in the fact that she is involved in a number of sports or activities,” he said. “One could say that Kristen would be spreading herself too thin and would not do a quality job at any one activity. On the contrary, I can tell you that Kristen Tolle is highly respected and an integral part of each activity or organization in which she participates.
“Because of her many involvements, Kristen has become very organized and self-motivated. Kristen is always the first to show up and the last to leave the events which she is a part of.
“In my opinion, Kristen is a model student and worker who can be given a lot of responsibility and be trusted to do quality work in a timely manner. One quality that I appreciate most about Kristen is how she deals with people. Kristen treats each club member with respect and dignity. Kristen also goes out of her way to make new club members feel welcome and accepted. Kristen Tolle is a young person who I would be happy to call my own.
“Along with having a good work ethic, Kristen is also respectful, courteous, trustworthy and a good moral person.”
Winslow, 17, is the son of Keith and Brenda Winslow. He has an older brother, Andrew, and sister, Sarah. He has lived in Sweet Home all his life.
He plans to attend Whitworth University for three years and then transfer through a dual enrollment program to Gonzaga University and earn a degree in engineering for land surveying.
He has been an Ice Crew member and leader at the Oregon Jamboree, an assistant for summer soccer kids camp and a volunteer for the citywide cleanup.
He attends Sweet Home Community Chapel where he is a youth group leadership team member. He has been a member of the Students in Ministry program and spent a week on a mission trip to a Cheyenne Indian reservation in Montana. He is a weekly chapel usher and has been a youth group weekly Bible study leader.
He was a RYLA Leadership Camp scholar in 2010 through Rotary International. He attended the Newport High School Leadership Conference in 2009. He a National Honor Society member.
He has played varsity soccer for four years, varsity basketball one year and varsity baseball one year. He is captain of the soccer team.
Tolle, 17, is the daughter of Joan and David Tolle. She has one younger brother, Michael. She has lived in Sweet Home since 2006.
She plans to attend Oregon State University and enroll in the Forestry College and any activities she finds of interest, including band, intramural soccer and the logging sports club.
She maintains a 4.0 GPA.
In 4-H, she has been historian and vice president. She is currently president of the club. She has received the master showmanship award for dairy cows. She has received various blue ribbons for market swine and lamb showings and for outstanding showmanship in swine and sheep.
In high school, Tolle is in the leadership class and was on her class board for two years. In her third year as student body officer, she became student manager of the school. Through the leadership program, she attends district board meetings and updates the School Board about high school activities.
She has been vice president of the Band Department for two years.
With the Youth Watershed Council, Tolle is high school liaison between the high school and U.S. Forest Service.
In the eighth grade, she received the American Legion Award, and she was girl of the year as a freshman at SHHS. She was MVP on the girls varsity soccer team two years in a row and has received letters in softball and band. She was a princess on the Homecoming Court. She went undefeated in the girls open pole climb all year in the Forestry Club and placed first at state. She has played varsity soccer for three years, basketball as a freshman and softball as a freshman and sophomore.
She attends Sweet Home Mennonite Church where she is a volunteer at Vacation Bible School. She helps with Sunday School, teaching younger children stories from the Bible. She occasionally participates in the musical program at church, singing and playing flute.